Topping a single cola dominant strain?

Hey all ,this maybe doesn't qualify as advanced cultivation ,but i figured the best place to get a serious answer would be amoungst people who were advanced growers...

So ,basicly as the title asks ..what happens if you top a single cola dominant strain? Does it bush out nicely instead or does it just stunt it and mess it up?

Every sativa i have grown loves getting topped but for my next grow is Northern lights and after reading a few journals it looks like a single cola plant.. i probably will top it unless it is highly advised not to.

Any thoughts? Anyone have experience of topping NL ?

Some northern lights are single dominant cola others are bushy indicas. From what ive read and grown the bushy indics NL loves to be topped. Very good question about topping single dominant cola strains i have the same question.

My white widow grows well as single colas, but if I top her, she does better as a couple big colas, then as a bunch of small colas. It that makes sense.

yeah i think that makes sense..

i top my northern lights for four colas and get great response from the plants. GL

Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas

I've seen Uncle Bens huge ass plants around, but had never looked at that thread, its got some great info in it.

yeah i have read that thread.. but i don't think it covered the issue .. i'm talking about ,what would topping do to a plant like this


would it have the usual effect of promoting those lower shoots to come to the top creating a nice bush .Or do those lower branches on this type of structure not react the same way ...



you say good results po boy.. is this with the bushy or single cola type?

Fromm the looks of that plant and the plants in uncle bens first couple posts in that journal I bet if you did it just like uncle ben did right above the second node, you would get very similar results. I think the idea is when you top it that low, it only leaves the 4 main branchs to develop, and they should develope at similar rates.

I think this would be differant on plants that tend to grow out bushy in the first place.

puffdatchronic said:

yeah i have read that thread.. but i don't think it covered the issue .. i'm talking about ,what would topping do to a plant like this View attachment 2486754


you say good results po boy.. is this with the bushy or single cola type?

Click to expand...

well, it would be a single cola if i didn't top them.

take a couple clones and try it out. Id say top it at least twice if you do it.

hmm interesting..

I have a lot of experience with a Northern Lights x BigBud variety and topping. Without topping they usually have one main cola
and 4-6 smaller branches. The type wanted to be taller than I wanted so I FIM'd the clones I took from her. FIM'd them halfway thru veg
after 2 1/2 weeks in dirt. Used the same 6 week flower period on both generations and the un-FIM'd mom finished at 58 inches tall with a yield
of 32 grams dry. The FIM'd clones finished with 3 or 4 top colas each and just 48 inches tall. Yield was 42 grams.

So I would top any NL variety to keep her from getting into my lights. Also, you have to give topped or FIM'd plants a bit more room in the flower room
as they will be shorter and wider. NL's really stretch during flowering, often doubling in height.

Good luck, BigSteve.

Totally forgot about this thread, now i'm doing the nl .. I decided not top before, but based on your advice steve ,I think I will go ahead and top her... don't know where to mind.. uncle bens 2nd node for 4 tops does sound interesting ,though I have always topped at the 5th node with good results.. maybe toss a coin or something.

you keep topping it and the plant will get more bushy

I've topped my Purple Kush before and ended up with a better yield than not topping. But, I have limited space and don't have the room for them to bush out too much. Single main cola's work better in my grow area.

we always bend our main colas down to get more nodes up top, its a must for indoors if you are growing for yield as you should be. the main colas shade out the lower colas.because of the main colas height your light needs to be raised to a point where the lower colas dont get any lumens.

try pinning your top cola to the side of the pot with a big paperclip or a small hole with twist-tie ran through it to anchor. do this after your plant is about 8 to 10" tall, i dont recommend topping because it stunts the growth of the plant. it all works the same but cutting the main stem off versus pinning it down or bending it down yield the same results and the plant doesnt go into shock for a week.

Anyone have experience topping an older plant in veg?

For those I would top as many times as possible. Bcz as you top the plant is sends hormones. To the lower branches that tells them that the main cola is no longer the best spot on the plant to utilise the light so the plants sends its auxins to the lower branches causing them now to think they are the top colas u can do this as many times as you like more u do it the more tops ull get.